Menu

Friday, 29 June 2012

HOW DID WE FORGET ABOUT GATWICK?

There
has been pretty much one topic on everyone’s lips in the industry this week and
that is the argument for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. Why? Because the
UK government is due to unveil a consultation document on its new airports
strategy in the next few weeks. Note: the consultation document isn’t about
Heathrow and its third runway. In fact, expansion at Heathrow isn’t even
included as one of the options on the table. And yet, it would appear, all
roads (or should that be runways) keep leading back to Heathrow.

There’s
no doubting that Heathrow is a problem that needs fixing. It’s currently operating
at a perilous 99 per cent capacity. Some have suggested introducing mixed mode
flying (ie using its two runways for inbound and outbound flights) to increase
this capacity by 15 per cent and another 10 million passengers per year.

But,
in my opinion, Heathrow is a bit of red herring in this whole debate. We need
to stop talking about it and get back to the real issue: how is aviation going to grow over the next 20, 30 years
and how are we going to build an infrastructure fit for purpose to continue
supporting the growth of UK Plc?

In the short term, the answer is not Heathrow. Or Marsden. Or
Boris Island. Let’s open our eyes and look to other airports in the South East,
airports with capacity: Luton, Stansted, Gatwick.

Gatwick,
for one, is currently operating at around 80 per cent capacity on its single
runway. It’s projected to grow to 40 million passengers by 2020 with that one
runway (it’s currently at just under 34 million). It’s connected to London for
business better than any other airport, with train links to Victoria, London
Bridge, City Link and Kings Cross. And it’s currently
investing around £20 million per month into new passenger facilities as part of
a six year £1.2 billion programme due for completion around 2014/2015. This
investment and infrastructure make Gatwick a great option for business
travellers.

But I’m not here to champion Gatwick over Heathrow, or Stansted
over Boris Island. I’m here to champion common sense and to say let’s park
Heathrow for now and start thinking long term for the good of this
industry.

Posted by David Chapple - talk to him on Twitter @btshowlondon or david@businesstravelshow.com